Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Previews @ Joystiq, IGN

Jensen can employ cover — now something players can set to toggle, based on some feedback Eidos Montreal received after the last set of previews. By sticking to walls, boxes and sneaking under some trucks, Jensen's infiltration of the building almost looks easy, until he reaches a door requiring keycard access.

Hacking is a major component of the game, and appears in the form of a mini-game where nodes must be captured before a sub-routine captures your user node. It's not as complicated as it sounds: you pick an icon, choose to hack it, then wait. Time to hack is based on a number corresponding to the difficulty of the node in question, and you're given a bonus should you capture the enemy user node. During this segment, Jensen earned a pair of viruses which can grant you instant success in hacking or slow down enemy users in the system.

The catch is you can't do everything all at once. Though Deus Ex may look and play like a first-person shooter with cover mechanics, there's a heavy emphasis on character development. This isn't Crysis where you can swap between stealth and armor at will. Instead, the choices you make stick with you. As protagonist Adam Jensen you modify your body and your gear in according with how you want to play.
About six to 10 hours into the game, you'll have filled out enough of your skill tree to see a significant impact on gameplay. Taking the stealth approach can be an effective way to navigate dangerous areas, but costly. Remaining cloaked consumes Jensen's energy, which doesn't automatically recharge to full capacity, meaning the cloak ability can't be spammed. Instead, it'll need to be mixed in with careful movement around stages swarming with enemies. You'll need to keep an eye on the directions enemies are facing as they patrol, as their ability to detect your presence is based on line of sight and sound.

Originally Posted by Von Paulus
This got nothing to do with difficulty levels.
Balanced gameplay is another matter.

I'm pretty sure gameplay balance most definitely has something to do with the overall difficulty. It doesn't make sense to claim otherwise. An augmentation that's overpowered is obviously going to give you more of an advantage than one that's not.

I'm more concerned about the mission structure, and the amount of hand-holding involved.

Originally Posted by Von Paulus
Sure. But Deus Ex was well balanced.
With Human Revolution, my fear is that the game is balanced for couch console players.

You mean mainstream gamers.

Console games used to be tough as hell with limited lives and continues. Early console RPGs were also hard as a rock. Games as a whole have been made simpler for mainstream gamers and to expand audiences, it has nothing to do with platforms.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I'm pretty sure gameplay balance most definitely has something to do with the overall difficulty.It doesn't make sense to claim otherwise. An augmentation that's overpowered is obviously going to give you more of an advantage than one that's not.

If you have a gameplay balanced for "people who play in the couch with a gamepad", the levels of difficulty won't change that fact. It can make it harder, but it still be a crappy game.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I'm more concerned about the mission structure, and the amount of hand-holding involved.

That too.

Originally Posted by DoctorNarrative
You mean mainstream gamers.

Yes, nowadays mainstream gamers, which means mostly they are console and mobile devices players. Not mainstream gamers from 10 years ago.
However that doesn't mean that all console players are mainstream gamers.

Originally Posted by Von Paulus
Yes, nowadays mainstream gamers, which means mostly they are console and mobile devices players. Not mainstream gamers from 10 years ago.
However that doesn't mean that all console players are mainstream gamers.

I would say the vast majority of mainstream/casual gamers are on the PC. Look at Popcap games, flash games and even World of Warcraft. Consoles are more hardcore, even though they have mainstreamed a lot to appeal to a wider audience.

Mainstream and casual are not the same thing. I'd say that consoles easily have more mainstream games in general. Although with so many titles being cross-platform now, the difference isn't as great as it used to be.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Mainstream and casual are not the same thing. I'd say that consoles easily have more mainstream games in general.

Again, older console generations had very hard games with strict penalties. Mainstreaming games to make them easier, more streamlined and more fun for more casual players has happened to all platforms as gaming expands to larger audiences. Compare an old game like Castlevania to something like God of War… very streamlined. Equally on the PC there is streamlining, even on exclusives like Supreme Commander 2, Civ5, WoW and even in the indie space if some comments on Avadon are correct.

For every RPG gamer on this site lamenting the streamlining of RPGs there is a console gamer somewhere lamenting how simple their games have gotten as well. It's a universal problem. I've been a PC only gamer for 20 years but I grow tired of this constant need to look at consoles as the enemy… the enemy is the changing games industry.

Originally Posted by DoctorNarrative
Again, older console generations had very hard games with strict penalties. Mainstreaming games to make them easier, more streamlined and more fun for more casual players has happened to all platforms as gaming expands to larger audiences.

I've been gaming on consoles since the Atari 2600, so you're not telling me something that I don't already know. Yes, games in general have become easier, but games on consoles are not more "hardcore" than PC games. Unlike you, I still game on both platforms.

As I said though, mainstream and casual do not mean the same thing. A mainstream product is something that is created to appeal to a majority, not necessarily something that is easier. Although it seems rare nowadays for a mainstream game to have much challenge. Call of Duty or Super Mario would be examples of mainstream, while Bejeweled or Plants vs Zombies would be examples of casual games, imo.

*Edit* I just realized that I misread your original post. You were referring to the "gamers", not the actual games, when you were talking about hardcore. Yes, I would agree that the majority of hardcore gamers are on consoles. The sales figures alone make that tough to argue.

Originally Posted by JDR13
*Edit* I just realized that I misread your original post. You were referring to the "gamers", not the actual games, when you were talking about hardcore. Yes, I would agree that the majority of hardcore gamers are on consoles. The sales figures alone make that tough to argue.

Yah.

In any event, there is "consolized" stuff but I mostly see it as technical. A bad UI on PC meant for gamepads for instance, or Deus Ex: Invisible War's tiny little areas and frequent load times.

Stuff like "every RPG needs to be real time!" though is more about appealing to a wider audience and that takes place on every platform. I don't think that trend reversing anytime soon and it will probably get worse and worse… even after DA2 got spanked in sales and reviews Bioware employees are still talking about streamlining and appealing to more people on their forums, they ain't giving up.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Well while I recognize that there are definitely some quality indie titles out there, I've yet to play an indie that could take the place of any of my favorite crpgs from the past, regardless of age.

Thinking about this thread compared to the other on the jumping capacity lack of in TW makes me laugh.

Questioning the lack of jumping capacity when it comes to RP a character who might be agile and swift is nitpicking and reveals whiners.
But reproaching a decision about the way of representing the enhanced capacities of a character is not.

Originally Posted by ChienAboyeur
As somebody wrote on this site, where are the RPlayers gone?

They are (as an mass overview) replaced by players who believe that "action = Role-playing".
Similar to my "I fight, therefore I play a role".
Abnd the bigger companies like that.

—  Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius  and a lot of courage  to move in the opposite direction. (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)